If you’re sick of mapping out restrooms before you head out for the day, waking up overnight with stabbing gut pains, being unsure of what’s safe to put in your mouth, blaming your odiferous wind on the dog, and are suspicious of what may have taken up residence in your gut, you’re in the right place.
The truth is, popping Tums, Dulcolax, and Pepto like candy aren’t the answer.
Conventional medicine relies on masking symptoms to help you get through the day. And while it helps – until it’s time for the next dose – the underlying problems are still there.
The reality is, your body is designed to eat real food and spend time digesting it. It is also designed to host beneficial bacteria that strengthen our health in so many ways. And when we have gut symptoms, it’s often because we’re not eating the right things or not letting our bodies work like they’re intended to or have an imbalance in the microbes living in the gut. When we gift ourselves exactly what we uniquely need, everything can change.
As a Certified Microbiome Analyst and Functional Nutritionist, I specialize in helping you figure out your digestive distress by taking a completely functional approach to determining the root causes of why your symptoms are happening in the first place. Both in the gut and in the rest of the body.
I don’t believe that you need to strip down to a severe elimination diet and feel hungry all day long, or take loads of antimicrobial herbs and prescriptions. I think this is extreme and nearly always unnecessary. Instead, I use specialized testing that differs from what most other functional providers are using, so that I can understand what’s going on in your gut from a “terrain” perspective – what’s living there and why – and through this view, work to correct these microbial imbalances through a food plan, targeted nutrients, and lifestyle suggestions.
I am thorough with my clients, walking alongside you in this journey and finding details that other providers have missed. Using symptom and historical health information, food logs, labs, and my own clinical knowledge, I investigate your root causes and evolution of your health issues so that you can finally get the answers you deserve and a customized path forward that will finally address your unique symptoms. There are no template protocols here, because you and your needs are unique! Instead, I find the right combination of recommendations in the right sequence to coach you back into balance.
Hi, I’m Amy.
I’m a Functional Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Microbiome Analyst.
In my “past life,” I was a malnourished vegetarian (since age 12!) and mental health therapist. After about 6 years of counseling trauma survivors and troubled kids, I burned out and went to culinary/pastry school (because the world can never have too many chocolate cupcakes!).
While I was learning to cook, two things happened: I fell in love with the science of nutrition during a required nutrition course, and I learned just what was in our food supply. I had grown up eating and cooking real food, courtesy of my mom and grandma’s love of time in the kitchen, but in culinary school, we were taught to include artificial flavors and colors and added sugar to “enhance” what we were making. I was quite surprised, and also appalled and concerned. Despite this, I continued on to graduate and land my dream job: running a local pastry kitchen and making 350 hand dipped chocolate truffles a day.
Though I had started to eat some fish by that point, my malnourished vegetarian history ultimately caught up with me when I got pregnant, and a difficult pregnancy (constant nausea, food aversions, reflux) made me even further nutrient depleted. And then my son arrived on the scene. And his gut was a hot mess express.
By about 3 months old, Jacob was projectile vomiting when exposed to corn through my breastmilk. He pooped every other day or 3 (“That’s normal!” said the pediatrician) and woke crying 4-8 times on a good night. I ultimately had to remove gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, citrus and strawberries from my diet, as Jacob couldn’t tolerate these foods. I subsisted on vegetables, a few fruits, coconut, rice, poultry, soy-free chocolate, and little else for what seemed like an eternity.
I had to take a hard look at myself. My gut was also officially in horrible shape. And it had been for years. I realized that I had actually been having digestive issues since as long as I could remember, though it had changed over time. Reflux. Diarrhea. Embarrassing tummy rumbling and gas. Annual stomach viruses. Nausea to the point of vomiting bile. Ignored food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances (lactose, mushrooms, chocolate; the good stuff). You name it. No wonder Jacob was also having digestive issues. He had inherited my messed up microbiome, food reactivity, and all the nutrient deficiencies that came alongside my digestive dysfunction. I needed to take action beyond just removing some foods. It wasn’t cutting it.
By one year, my son’s pooping and sleep still hadn’t improved and his growth rate had started to decrease, so the doctor advised me to bring most foods back into my diet as well as introduce them back to him. At his 18 month checkup, the pediatrician discovered that Jacob had plummeted to around 2% on the growth curve. Gluten and eggs were found to be the culprits this time and removed again from both of our diets. The new diet helped him a little, but not enough. Still miserable, not sleeping, though at least he was growing again. I threw up my hands, desperate for sleep and answers, and on a whim, enrolled in a holistic nutrition program in order to help rebalance Jacob’s gut, as well as my own. Luck and a colleague then introduced me to functional medicine, and suddenly everything in my own health journey, as well as Jacob’s, made sense.
Through this journey, I was able to get my gut in the best shape ever. I got rid of nasty microbial overgrowths and nourished my good gut bugs. I supported my nutrients and managed my stress in a new way. As a result, I can now eat a normal diet (and choose to be gluten free), my reflux has resolved, and my bowels have regulated. I feel better than I ever did, despite having a new baby and running a business. And Jacob now sleeps straight through the night, shot up in height (50th percentile!), and now only avoids gluten.
Whether you’re an adult or the parent of a child struggling with their digestion, if any part of my story resonates with you, and you feel like you’ve tried so many other things to fix your gut but still haven’t figured it out, I’m here to finally get you these answers and a real path forward to feeling better.
Ready to live more spontaneously and confidently?
I’ve got you covered.
Apply now to meet with Amy and see if you’re a good fit to work with me!
WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING…
Amy is so knowledgeable and not only willing to research for in-depth and complex issues – she relishes it! Even as an RN who has trained in functional medicine, I can tell you that Amy’s expertise goes above and beyond any other practitioner that I’ve encountered. I also love that she goes back to basics in terms of trying to achieve goals using food rather than supplements (when possible). Her nutritional knowledge is phenomenal! I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Kiran H., Austin, TX
I am a nurse of 30 years and I had been eating whole foods plant based for a year before I started working with Silvia.
Judy P., Frisco, TX
By working with Silvia, I learned how to put my current nutrition knowledge into practice more fully and this has made a wonderful difference in my health. Logging my meals and having Silvia comment on what I was eating and make practical suggestions was so helpful! Silvia taught me a lot about micronutrients and balancing my macronutrients to have a more complete meal. This helped me to snack less and feeling more satiated between meals.
By going through coaching with Silvia for three months I was able to put things together that I hadn’t on my own. Before working with Silvia, I took 1 prescription medicine and 1 supplement every night to help me sleep. I no longer take those, and I am now sleeping 8 hours a night – every night! I highly recommend using food as medicine and treating causes of disease instead of symptoms of disease. Silvia and Amy are wonderful guides to help you get on the right path to a healthier future!
Amy and Heather have helped me turn my chronic disease around. For example, the supplements recommended and meal plan they’ve helped develop and implement for me has brought my A1C and other labs into normal range. This is a first for me in 20 years. The other thing I’ve benefited from is supplements that helped me experience a more regulated nervous system. They care for people and do their job well! Try them out!
Lauren B.